The Changling Synopsis
The magical adventures of Leyla, Horatio, Tundi, Sierra and Shauna: Sarah and Archibald Townson are mum & dad to five adopted children: Shauna,aged 13,Irish born; Leyla,aged 10,Turkish born; Horatio,aged 9,English born; Tundi,aged 6,Nigerian born; and Sierra,aged 5,Spanish born. In the company of their many pets, they get along well as a loving family, until Shauna misbehaves to such a degree as to attract the unwelcome attention of His High Majesty Ree Cluselug, King of The Fairies, who decrees that she must be taken to the Fairyland Torture Dungeon for punishment and a lookalike changeling left in her place. Unfortunately, the two dimwit fairies in charge of the swap, inadvertently kidnap Sierra as well.
The changeling, Dylis - accepted as Shauna by the family - is an instant success with the children - not least because of her magical powers - some of which she makes known to them. Their mission to rescue Sierra in which they must brave the dereliction of Crowcall Abbey becomes an adventure in which they are set upon by the witch, Ratstails, and her legion of man-eating crows. Aided in their hour of need by a peculiar-looking bird-watcher named Bradley Adam David Drayton-Yahya, the children, expressing their gratitude, nonetheless worry about the gentleman's disquieting initials.
Continuing their search, they arrive at the Fairy Palace - a vast hidden kingdom below ground - where, in the face of extreme danger, they bravely proceed with their efforts to rescue Sierra. They then travel back in time to 1912 Southampton where the children attempt to dissuade the family of a friend from boarding the doomed liner Titanic, and later, in a quest to replenish her dwindling supplies of magic, the changeling must outwit Vrones and Rincasins to gain entry to the well-guarded Antique Alchemy. There, in vats of pure gold, mixtures must be weighed as per precise instructions and carefully stirred with the claw of a Griffin if the changeling is to have any hope of regaining her former capabilities. Behind locked doors, Spark Chambers spiral electric energy to a dragon's brain - the creature's huge bat-like wings, lizard's claws and serpent's barbed tail already in position - its massive body being cloned from the bones of a genetically identical ancestor discovered during excavations in a town's market square. It only awaits an infusion of crocodile blood at the correct temperature, already being prepared in a bubble chamber, to make it the largest manmade dragon ever to terrify the earth! But with conflicting rumours of approaching hostilities between the Underground Fairies and their old enemy, the Elves of lonely Rombald's Moor, the questions might be asked, was the dragon being made to order, and if so, whose order? And what role, if any, would the changeling and her trusted companions, the children, play in the coming battle?
